City Cites Urgent Sewer Need Sanford Says County's Need For Yankee Lake Is Long Term

January 23, 1986|By Terry Osinski of The Sentinel Staff

SANFORD — The city's need to own the 2,800 acres near Yankee Lake is more pressing than Seminole County's since Sanford faces a state edict to stop dumping treated wastewater into Lake Monroe, City Manager Frank Faison said in a written statement delivered to the county.

Faison sent the 17-page critique Tuesday in response to County Adminstrator Ken Hooper's eight-page memorandum rejecting the proposed settlement of a lawsuit the city filed trying to take the Yankee Lake property from the county.

The county, which has paid Heathrow developer Jeno Paulucci $7.5 million for the property, wants to build a regional sewage treatment plant there, while the city wants the land to dispose of highly treated wastewater from its sewer plant.

Sanford agreed last year to a request from the state Department of Environmental Regulation to stop pouring effluent into Lake Monroe.

Last week, Sanford offered to drop the suit if the county sells the land to the city. The city would then sell 60 to 100 acres to the county for a regional sewer plant on the site.

The offer came when negotiations broke off between Mayor Bettye Smith and County Commission Chairman Robert Sturm. Sturm said he halted talks after the city added allegations to its lawsuit saying the county had violated the open meetings law when it bought the Paulucci property. Also, the city's proposal did not resemble the settlement Sturm and Smith had been discussing, Sturm said.

Hooper's memo said the city's proposal was unacceptable because it ''only takes care of Sanford.''

Faison said the county's need for the land is ''self-created and basically yet to come'' while the city's need is immediate.

The state has given Sanford until Oct. 10 to submit final design plans for removing effluent from Lake Monroe. The disposal system must be fully operational by 1989, Faison said.

The city ''does not really favor joint use'' with the county, but would consider the possibility if it would help the two to reach an agreement, Faison said.

If the county is allowed to keep the land, the city will lose up to $8 million in state and federal grants, he said. The grants will pay for 52.4 percent of the sewage improvements and utility customers have begun paying for the balance.

If the county is allowed to continue with its regional plant, developers and new connection fees will pay for its construction.

Sanford commissioners want to meet with county commissioners Monday night to discuss a possible settlement. The court hearing is set for Feb. 3 in Melbourne.

Sanford commissioners have said the Yankee Lake site is the only site available for their project.